The Canary Islands are part of Spain but they’re located much closer to Africa than the Spanish Mainland. The seven islands are in the Atlantic Ocean, 1,350 kilometres south of the Iberian Peninsula.

Their nearest neighbour is Morocco (95 kilometres) east of Fuerteventura and the climate is wonderful all year round with temperatures rarely falling below 18C in the winter and rising to above 24C in the Summer.

They call the Canaries “The Land of the Eternal Spring”. The sub-tropical climate is tempered and regulated by the Gulf Stream and Trade Winds and at any time of year is a good time to visit with guaranteed sunshine, virtually no rainfall and non-stop tourist activity. Small wonder that 12 million international tourists migrate to these shores each year! The Archipelago consists of five main islands - La Palma, Lanzarote, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and the two un-spoilt Islands of Heirro and Gomera.

The Islands are the tips of a vast volcanic mountain range lying beneath the Atlantic Ocean. The fact that four of Spain’s seven major nature reserves are located here reflects the extraordinary wealth of natural beauty to be found in the Canaries.

The volcanic crater of Mount Teide, the major landmark of Tenerife, was designated as a national reserve in 1954 along with the Taburiente crater on La Palma. Teide is the third tallest volcano in the World (after two in Hawaii) and its 3,718 metre peak is the highest in the whole of Spain. The Caldera del Taburiente on La Palma is the World’s largest erosion crater with a diameter of 9 kilometres and a depth of 770 metres.

Lanzarote’s Timanfaya Park was declared a national reserve in 1974 and the Island as a whole, which has one of the most extraordinary volcanic landscapes on the Planet, has been designated a globally protected “Reserve of Biosphere” by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation).

The Island has eerie fields of petrified lava, beaches of black volcanic sand and vineyards growing in the very bowels of volcanic craters. There is a place where restaurants grill meat on volcano powered barbecues.

The fourth national reserve is to be found on Gomera where an ancient laurel forest lies at the heart of the 10,000 acre Parque Nacional de Garajonay.

La Palma is probably the most beautiful and un-spoilt of the “big five” but do not expect the near perfect climate of the other islands. Its lush, green & often wet! To the west of the island the climate is cooler because of the influence of the trade winds and gulf stream and the east of the island, being divided by the huge mountain range, is warmer and drier.

The island is located 200 kilometres to the west of Africa and the nearest land west of it is Brazil